 Hey everyone, Trent here from Movie Nerds. I've just come off a massive binge watch of season one of The Punisher. Is it amazing like we're expecting full of gun-toting action or did Marvel and Netflix come out using Mercy Bullets like in the 80s? Stay tuned to find out. If this is your first time here and you want to know a little bit more about movies, make sure you hit that subscribe button and hit the bell notification so you don't miss anything here at Movie Nerds. So for those of you who are unaware, Frank Castle aka The Punisher was introduced in Daredevil season 2 where he was on a vendetta to find the people that killed his family. Flash forward to season one of The Punisher and we get Frank who's finished his vendetta and he's trying to live peacefully. Naturally, this doesn't happen when he encounters micro and learns of a government conspiracy that linked to the crime families and the murder of his family. So, isn't it any good? Yes and no. Die Hard Punisher fans, I have a feeling you are gonna really dislike this show. I'm apprehensive about it. It's good in some elements, but it's I think it misses the mark overall in what The Punisher represents. This kind of feels like a step back from Daredevil season 2 where we got the full fledged Punisher where he's just on a killing spree and really grotesque and violent. This show strips him down to a more human element, which is welcome, but I just think that there's too much time and too much pacing issues that really hold the show back. This this show is much more about the psychological nature of Frank and how he's trying to fit into the world after his vendetta is finished, but also learning about this new conspiracy. That's not to say that psychological elements are a bad thing. It's a brilliant look into the psyche of the veterans. There's a lot of military components in this season and they really, really explore what it's like to be a veteran from the Afghani War, to come back to America and try and live their lives. A lot of people can't escape that war, so it's really quite a relevant social commentary. We get some really good references to key Punisher stories. I'm going to just name drop a few. You got Welcome Back Frank, Punisher Born. You've got pretty much all of Garth, Ennis and Steve Dillon's run and there's a good callback to the battle van being introduced in the 80s with Micro. So there are some really good elements, but overall I think that the pacing of the season it spends too long on the quieter moments. Whilst there is action and I'm not saying that action is required at all times, it feels like it's not Punisher. It feels like a PG version of the Punisher. Yes, we've got some grotesque violence and all Frank going absolutely crazy, but I just don't think enough time was spent with him punishing. I mean, he's called the Punisher. He shouldn't be apprehensive about doing his job and his code is much more black and white than this series makes it feel. And I think that they've just missed the mark on that. And they've spent far too much time building on the micro and Frank dynamic. And as you watch the season, you'll see why they do this, but I think it just got pushed through too long. And a lot of the Marvel Netflix series have a mid-season lull. When I first started watching the season, I thought that mid-season lull had been moved to the front. And I was really looking forward to going full throttle from episode five to 13. Unfortunately, it kind of goes full throttle from about episode eight or nine. And even then they really pulled their foot off the throttle. And it just it is just a lot slower than I think what a lot of people were expecting. And that's not to say it's a bad thing. It's just different. And I think it might grow on people upon rewatching. It's definitely not an iron fist in terms of bombing. But it's just not what everyone's expecting or the Punisher series that was needed after such a strong development in Daredevil season two. Additionally, the supporting cast is kind of weak. Micro, he's good, but there's too much of him. He's the comedic relief, and he's also Frank's accomplice. But he just he's acting chops. He looks worried and he looks like he's doing the same face over and over and over. You can't tell if he's showing happiness, sadness or anything. And that also extends to Agent Madonna. She is the most plastic looking actress I've ever seen. And that's not to say she's had Botox and stuff. She's just the same face over and over. She looks like this all the time and speaks with the exact same tone of voice. You can't tell if she's showing excitement, sadness, anything, the way I'm looking right now. This is how she is talking and acting the entire time. I know it's annoying and frustrating. However, John Bernthal, he's absolutely amazing as Frank. It's a great return to the role. He goes from really somber and quiet. And you can see all the little ticks that a veteran would have. He displays them really, really naturally in his movements. Sometimes he does little twitches and you can see he's just aching to unleash. And when he does unleash, it is absolutely fantastic to watch. And there are some brutal, brutal moments, particularly later on in the season as things start to get good. Unfortunately, the series ultimately goes for too long. Eight episodes could have cut out some of the subplots that were unnecessary and weak, Karen Page's subclot, Deborah and Wool. That was necessary to an extent, but could have been condensed into one episode or two episodes. Especially as that relationship with Frank had been built in dead or... And yeah, it could have gone the way defenders and gone eight episodes. We could have had a lot more interactions and punisher killings. But ultimately we got 13 episodes and it felt far too long. It's not to say it's not good. I just don't think it's going to be well received. And I just, yeah, it's not what I was expecting. So I'm really taken back by it. However, if this had come before Daredevil season two, it'd be completely different. It'd be a good origin and good establishment of the character. His time in Iraq is absolutely phenomenal. There's a callback to Punisher Born where he just is alone in an Afghani terror camp, essentially, and he just destroys every single member in there. And all of that insight into his history and how things went with his family would have been fantastic if this came before Daredevil season two. Ultimately, this season is a step back. But I am looking forward to hopefully a Punisher season two. Now that all of this conspiracy stuff is out of the way, I think they can be a lot more open to explore and take the safety cap off, if you will, and just have Punisher going full on nuts as he does in the comics. Anyway, let me know what you think of the Punisher when it's released on November 17th in Australia on Netflix. So make sure you subscribe to Movie Nerds and let us know what you think in the comments below. I'm Trent, until next time.